Repairing damage to the hulls of fiber glass boats has been a difficult and expensive procedure. If the hull is maintained in an upright position during the repairing operation, the damaged area will normally be in a relatively inaccessible location, requiring the workman to work at a position above his head in order to repair the damage. Not only is this an awkward position, but gravity works against the repair with the result that only one layer of fiber glass can be applied at a time to the damaged area and the liquid resin tends to drip downwardly. Thus, repairs to boat hulls are tedious and time consuming operations and the repair is often unattractive in appearance.
In an attempt to facilitate working on the hull, the practice in the past has been to invert the boat hull by hoisting it with a crane or other hoist mechanism and rolling it over onto a pile of automobile tires. Turning the boat onto a side edge is not satisfactory, for the side edge normally does not have sufficient strength to support the boat and damage can result. However, to invert the boat it is necessary to remove the motor, windshield and other hardware from the boat before it can be inverted onto the tires. In addition, it normally requires several workmen to aid in positioning the boat hull as it is lifted and inverted by the crane. After inverting, the damaged area may not be precisely upright, with a result that the liquid resin may tend to drip from the damaged area.
Under this conventional procedure, after the repair has been completed, it is necessary to right the boat hull through use of a crane or other hoist and replace the windshield, motor and other hardware.